Avianca Argentina announced the suspension of its international expansion plans two weeks before the launch of its Airbus A320 route between Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo.

The Argentine sister carrier of Colombia's Avianca Group says it made the decision when "taking into account the variables of the national and international markets". It asked all current ticket holders to apply for a refund, and did not offer to rebook the passengers on other carriers.

Avianca Brazil announced its own withdrawal from international routes earlier this month, but had confirmed that the Avianca Argentina-operated route between Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires would “not be affected”.

UK budget carrier EasyJet has put the cost of the London Gatwick drone disruption at around £10 million ($13 million), although overall flight cancellations for the airline fell in the first quarter.

London Gatwick was closed for more than a day during December following the sighting of drones in the vicinity, with a substantial impact on EasyJet, which has its largest base at the airport.

EasyJet says the incident affected around 82,000 passengers and over 400 cancelled flights

IATA has called on the European Union and the UK to provide clarity on how the bloc's proposal for a cap on flights would work in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

Under its planning for such a scenario, the European Commission in December proposed that any flights operated by UK airlines between the country and the bloc on 29 March 2019 would be allowed to continue for 12 months; however, it also said that those carriers would not be able to add new routes or increase the frequencies of existing services during the period.

"That current flight levels will be protected even with a hard Brexit is an important assurance," states IATA's director general Alexandre de Juniac. "But with two months left until Britain leaves the EU, airlines still do not know exactly what kind of Brexit they should be planning for."